


santa and cupid planned exactly what you did (when you kissed me by the mistletoe above)

by leifstroganoff



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Canon Typical Meddling, F/M, Mistletoe, Requited crushes, holiday parties, i tried to be as. vague as possible so u can interpret it however you like lol, or i. guess you could interpet it as leif/oc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28265271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leifstroganoff/pseuds/leifstroganoff
Summary: Zoey may not be the most observant person ever, but she’s not anidioteither and she knows what acrushlooks like (at least when it’s not a crush onher, anyways). And if she knows what a crush looks like, she’s pretty sure her newly hired assistant (more of aninternactually, there less for the fact that Zoeyneededan assistant and more because they neededsomewhereto put her)hasone.Big time.
Relationships: Leif Donnelly/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Zoey's Playlist Secret Santa 2020





	santa and cupid planned exactly what you did (when you kissed me by the mistletoe above)

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas to straightembarassment over on tumblr (idk if you actually have an ao3 but i also didn't know if you'd rather read it over here or on tumblr so!! i figured both is safe!! 😂) - this zep secret santa has been so fun to bother you in your inbox and get to know your favs abt the holiday season! (it was also nice to get out of my comfort zone! i've never written any kind of self-insert/reader or anything like this before so i hope it's okay!) 
> 
> i hope the rest of december and the new year treats you well! <3

Zoey may not be the most observant person ever, but she’s not an _idiot_ either and she knows what a _crush_ looks like (at least when it’s not a crush on _her_ , anyways). And if she knows what a crush looks like, she’s pretty sure her newly hired assistant (more of an _intern_ actually, there less for the fact that Zoey _needed_ an assistant and more because they needed _somewhere_ to put her) _has_ one. _**Big time.**_

 _Usually,_ her first instinct would be to think it’s _cute._ Her assistant is nice enough; a little bit young and naive, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but _hey_ , she’d once been that naive, bright-eyed kid and she happened to think those were _endearing_ qualities now. She much preferred it to the alternative of being jaded and going through the motions, anyways. And she _would_ think it’s cute if her assistant had a crush on anybody other than Leif Donnelly.

 _And_ if she hadn’t had her suspicions confirmed with a very soulful, melancholic little ditty about being _‘into him’_ and being _‘captured by his style’_ that had only made her a _little_ nauseous. But it also meant that she had to _help_ her, regardless of her own personal feelings about the man and whether or not he’s actually capable of real, genuine human emotions (which isn’t actually fair and she _knows_ it, recalling tearful eyes and an _embarrassing_ karaoke incident that provided more than enough evidence of _real human feelings_ ).

So, she sets to meddling. It’s not like she had a _choice_ anyways, knowing that if she ignored the situation then she would be _haunted_ by the song about being _into him_ and, quite frankly, that’s the absolute last thing she wants.

Her first course of action isn’t the stealthiest option available, but she doesn’t really wanna give the song _time_ to catch up to her, so… She talks to Tobin, approaching his desk while Leif’s on a coffee run to suss out the situation.

“ _Hey_ , Tobes,” She draws out, approaching him with what can only be described as an _awkward charm._

“‘Sup, Red?” He’s nonchalant as he leans back in his chair, tossing a ball that was previously sitting on his desk up in the air.

“Can I ask you something kind of weird?” She drags the chair from Max’s old desk over next to Tobin’s to sit as she asks, which causes him to raise his eyebrows in suspicion.

“Uh, shoot, but you _gotta_ know how sus you sound right now.”

“Right, I just, uh,” She honestly doesn’t even know how to _start_ to approach this subject, if she’s being honest. She really should’ve planned out what she was gonna say. “What does — I mean _does_ Leif — do you _thin_ k — does he like anyone?”

“Um… _What?”_

“Like, if he liked someone, how would I know?”

“Do you think Leif has a crush on _you?”_

“What? No,” Her eyes go wide before she can process it, shaking her head and forcing down the urge to _gag._ “Ew. I just,” She glances around, making sure there are no prying eyes. “I think the new intern likes him. And I think,” She has to steel herself for this one, praying her face doesn’t betray her that she absolutely _does_ not mean what she’s saying. “If he liked her, y’know, they’d be cute.”

The suspicion in Tobin’s gaze hasn’t fallen, but he does narrow his eyes thoughtfully which is better than telling her to straight up fuck off. After a moment of thought, he nods deliberately, leaning forward as if he’s about to spill a secret.

“Real talk, I’ve seen them talking and stuff at the cereal bar and… y’know, I don’t think it’s entirely out of the question.”

Tobin nods awkwardly and it seems like that’s all he has to say as he leans back again with a shrug and a sure look on his face.

“Hang on,” Now it’s her turn to be suspicious as he tosses the ball between his hands. “Why would you just tell me that? Isn’t that, like, against the _bro code_ or something?”

“Alright, first of all, don’t talk about the bro code, you don’t know anything about the bro code. _Second_ , I don’t know, I… I want him to be happy, y’know? I think that would make him happy. And I think you’ve been hella intent on meddling recently, so I feel like if you know, he might actually say anything about it ever.”

_Okay, then._

“Actually,” Tobin starts again. “I have an idea if you wanna hear it.”

* * *

So, Zoey and Tobin end up in charge of the SPRQpoint holiday party and… well, there’s mistletoe _everywhere._ Over the bar, over the elevator, really anywhere there’s something for it to _be_ over, it’s there. It’s all part of the plan.

Her assistant shows up early to help set up (and thankfully doesn’t question the _copious_ amounts of mistletoe being hung up) and Leif shows up slightly later while still being _ridiculously_ early, claiming that he just wanted to see if he could do anything to help. And _oh,_ she notices the way his eyes land on her assistant with a soft smile while he’s pretending to observe what’s already been decorated and _okay._ She is _much_ more confident in the plan now.

Before she knows it, the party is in full swing and she makes eye contact with Tobin from across the room where he’s chatting with Leif, mouthing _‘it’s go time’_ , to which he responds with a smile and a thumbs up.

She catches her assistant at the bar and makes small talk for a minute while she waits for Tobin, who only takes a minute to lure Leif over to the bar with the promise of a strawberry daiquiri before suddenly Zoey and Tobin are both walking away to talk to one of the other brogrammers on the other side of the room, leaving Leif with wide eyes and a stutter on his tongue.

“Uh, _hey.”_ He greets awkwardly, taking a sip of the drink that the bartender had just set in front of him. “You enjoying the party?”

“ _Yeah,_ ” Her voice sounds almost wistful, staring out at the decorated space and the many socially awkward coders dancing to Christmas music that’s only a little bit obnoxious. “It’s just all so… _so_ —”

“Yeah.” He affirms with a laugh, shaking his head as he takes another sip. “It’s all really something, huh?”

“Yeah.” She looks at him for a second before laughing and now it’s her turn to shake her head. “Now that we’ve swapped the same monosyllabic word a couple times…”

She trails off, taking a sip of her own drink and not bothering to hide the smile behind the glass as her eyes flit over to his own smile before looking up and catching on something above them. _Oh._

He seems to notice directly after her, following her eyes up to where the mistletoe hangs above them.

“ _Well,_ it _is_ tradition.”

“I didn’t, um, I don’t —” He stutters out, hands shoving into his pockets with a nervous swallow. “You really… You don’t have to. If you don’t want to. I mean, if you _do_ want to, I’m okay with it, I just —”

He’s cut off by her pressing up onto her toes and pressing a kiss to his lips, bringing her hand to his neck before pulling away with the ghost of a smile.

“I wanted to.”

He sputters for a second, cheeks flushing red as he opens and closes his mouth before settling on a soft smile as he relaxes his posture.

“I wanted to, too.” He repeats the sentiment with a somehow even dumber smile than he already had, small and soft and reserved just for the moment between the two of them, taking his hand out of his pocket to reach down and grab her own. “Just to be clear.”

“Well, message _received._ Loud and clear. _”_

Their soft smiles meet again as he registers a change in the music blasting through the fourth floor, an upbeat pop song taking over the airwaves as he takes one last large sip of his drink.

“Do you… _wanna dance?_ ”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas and happy holidays <3


End file.
